I make - Strawberry Rhubarb Confiture

I have been busy canning this year. The successful batches include quince jelly, strawberry jam (detailed in this post) and sriracha. The much less satisfying experiments are forest fruit jam (great taste but turned out to be coulis) and three-fruit marmalade (bitter and refused to jell). You can see that my main problem of making jam was to set it correctly. All changed after I got myself a candy thermometer. You've got to respect the good old chemistry.

When it comes to bottle flavors in a jar, it's hard to beat Christine Ferber. Her unique way of making jam usually consists of three stages: maceration, repeated boiling and resting, and a final boil. The whole process can take up to three days, even though the active time is much less than that. This is not about being frugal and using up the excess in the kitchen. This woman has thought long and hard about flavor conservation. Her unique (3-stage) method yields jams with the most vibrant and intense fruit flavor I have ever tasted. This is, without a doubt, an artisan way of conserve making.

Over the years, I have distilled the essence of her method and simplified into just one afternoon exercise. I don't claim that the simplified method produces jam comparable to hers. However, if you only have time and patience for an afternoon, my adaptation works out pretty well too.

Strawberry Rhubarb Confiture (adapted from Christine Ferber)

- 400 g strawberries, washed, hulled and roughly chopped into big chunks
- 400 g rhubarb, washed and cut into 1-cm dices
- 400 g granulated sugar (adjust the sugar to the sweetness of your fruit and taste)
- juice from one big lemon

In a large cooking ware (I used a Pyrex round casserole. Any nonreactive bowl would do), layer in the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar. I started with sugar on the bottom, then a layer of strawberries, another layer of sugar and so on, until you finish all the fruit and sugar. Use a large spoon to mix everything gently but thoroughly . Let the fruit macerate in the sugar for at least one hour. Longer or overnight (as Christine Ferber suggested) even better.

After one hour, the fruit should almost submerge in the water coming out during the maceration process. Scoop out the fruit and leave them aside. Add the lemon juice to the pot and place the pot over high heat and bring it to a lively boil. When bubbling hot, tip in the fruit and cook the fruit along with the juice for three minutes. At this stage, scoop out of the fruit again. Continue to boil the pot of fruity syrup until a candy thermometer reads 105C (~220F). Just let you know that a setting temperature of 105C yields jams tasted a bit too soft for me, so I always boil the syrup to 110C to produce a slightly firmer texture I prefer. If this is your first time, start with 105C this batch and decide what to do next.

When the internal temperature of syrup reaches a desirable setting temperature, put the fruit back to the pot and bring the pot back to a boil again. Here is what Christine Ferber said: "Watch the bubbles in the boil as you stir. Foam will form because the water in the fruit is drawn out, to be replaced with the syrup. In about 10 minutes, when the confiture is almost ready, the foam will begin to dissipate, the bubbles breaking more slowly and exposing a clear syrup below. Turn off the heat. Let the bubbling stop. The fruit should have absorbed the syrup and be suspended through the jam. If the fruit is floating, return it to the heat for another 2 minutes of boiling." Who am I to argue with the conserve queen? I followed her recommendations to the T.

Spoon the finished jam into sterilized jars. Fill a jar all the way just under the cap rim. Screw the caps tightly while the jam is hot.